On Friday (October 17), the Italian Coast Guard, in coordination with the Malta Rescue Coordination Center, initiated a search and rescue operation to assist a capsized vessel approximately 50 miles southeast of the Italian island of Lampedusa.  

In a press release, the Italian Coast Guard said that eleven people were reported to have been rescued; seven by the Italian Coast Guard and four by a nearby merchant ship. The body of one passenger was also reportedly recovered.  

Citing information provided by survivors, the Italian Coast Guard reported that there were an estimated thirty people aboard the capsized vessel leaving at least 20 people feared missing and dead.

Nicola Dell'Arciprete, Italian coordinator for UNICEF, told local news agency Agenzia Giornalistica Italia (AGI) that a pregnant woman had died and "several children are reported missing."  

The boat had reportedly set sail from Libya and had been at sea for two days when it capsized.

In addition, the Italian Coast Guard also confirmed the rescue of 91 people off the coast of Lampedusa on Sunday (October 19).  

In a statement, the Italian authorities said a report from the border patrol agency, Frontex, prompted the rescue of the vessel, which was adrift roughly about 16 nautical miles from Lampedusa. An inspection of the areas below deck found passengers in a serious medical condition. Additionally, two male bodies were found.  

The Italian authorities said that the 91 rescued included 85 men, one woman, and five who are presumed to be minors. Many were said to be in a "precarious" state of health. 

According to data compiled by the United Nations, more than 32,700 migrants have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean since 2014, including an estimated one in five who were children.

Read AlsoItaly: More than 120,000 migrants passed through Lampedusa since 2023

Protests in Rome  

News of Friday’s reported shipwreck sparked protests in Rome over the controversial Italy-Libya migrant deal.  

In 2017, Italy entered into an agreement with Libya to fund and train the Libyan Coast Guard in exchange for Libyan authorities patrolling maritime borders and intercepting boats crossing the Mediterranean and sending them back to Libya.  

The controversial deal, already renewed once under Prime Minister Georgia Meloni's hard-right government coalition, is set for renewal next month.  

The protests drew activists and sub-Saharan African migrants who said they had survived what they described as sordid and inhumane conditions in Libya. 

Sarita Fratini, an activist who is helping migrants sue the government of Italy after they were said to have been pushed back into Libyan detention centers, was among those at the protest.  

Speaking to the French news agency, Agence France Presse, Fratini said that there is a 'line of death' in the central Mediterranean.  

"In the Libyan area, you get captured. In the north, you die because there is no one there," Fratini said. 

Last Wednesay, 153 members of Italy's ruling coalition voted in favor of renewing the agreement with Libya as part of a "national strategy to fight migrant traffickers and prevent departures from Libya". Meanwhile, 112 voted against the measure, while nine abstained.

The conservative ruling coalition in the Lower House (Camera dei Deputati) has upheld the government's strategy regarding the renewal of a memorandum originally signed in 2017 by Libya and Italy under former center-left Democratic Party premier Paolo Gentiloni and interior minister Marco Minniti.

The agreement aims to boost cooperation between the two nations against human trafficking and departures from the African country. The motion presented by center-right MPs was approved by the house on Wednesday, October 15.

Read AlsoThe Libyan Coast Guard – explained

A 'deadly' deal 

Human rights and organizations offering maritime rescue operations have widely criticized the Italy-Libya deal, saying that it legitimizes the use of violence against migrants and aid workers. 

SOS Mediterranee, which carries out search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean, slammed the Italy-Libya deal as "deadly."  

SOS Mediterranee reported that the Libyan Coast Guard shot at their crew and 87 passengers aboard the Ocean Viking on August 24. The aid organization further alleged that the Libyan Coast Guard were using a boat gifted by Italy.  

On X, SOS Mediterranee said that there had been four shootings by Libyan Coast Guard over the course of six weeks, at least according to reports by SOS Humanity and Alarm Phone. Three people injured and the death of two people were said to have been caused by the reported gun attacks.

"Continued support for abusive, unaccountable forces in Libya is indefensible," Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement.  

"The Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding has proven to be a framework for violence and suffering, and should be revoked, not renewed," Sunderland added. 

A 2023 United Nations Fact-Finding Mission reported evidence of collusion between Libyan state forces and the trafficking and smuggling networks that it purports to dismantle. 

Civil society organizations are also calling on the European Union to immediately end cooperation with Libya, among them Refugees in Libya, a group of survivors of migrant-related violence in Libya. 

The Berlin-based thinktank Science and Politics Foundation (SWP) released a report indicating in their opinion that the overall migration management policy in Europe is enabling the "consolidation" of systematic abuses inside detention centers and called for alternative policies that facilitate safe passageways and regular migration.

Read AlsoItaly's ruling coalition, opposition clash over Libya memorandum